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The Casey Demons made an emphatic statement in winning their VFL Wildcard Match by 101 points over North Melbourne at Casey Fields on Sunday. The victory however, did not come at a cost as the team lost its most prolific ball getter in Luke Dunstan who limped from the ground before half time with what appeared to be a serious knee injury. Dunstan had been the star up to that point, having amassed 17 disposals and looking set for another day of monster numbers for the Demons. In the early stages of the game North Melbourne were competitive with both sides going goal-for-goal for almost 20 minutes. By that time the Kangaroos’ key forward Tyler Sellers had taken full advantage of the absence of Adam Tomlinson and Daniel Turner from the Casey line up with three goals to lead by a point. Tom McDonald was marking everything and Brodie Grundy was strong in the ruck, the former Magpie having brilliantly plucked the ball out of a ruck contest in the goal square for a major. The Demons then took matters into their own hands and hit their opponents like a ton of bricks. In a short space of time, they took over with goals to skipper Mitch White and two more to Tom McDonald which made it three for the term for the sticky-fingered key forward. In the blink of an eye, Casey had skipped away to an 18-point lead at the first break and worse was to come for the Kangaroos. It was always going to be hard going for the visitors who had a depleted list with only six AFL-listers, less than half of the reigning premiers who continued their dominance with a four goals to one second term. They didn’t let up after half time either. The vacancy filled by Dunstan’s injury was well covered by James Jordon who was prolific with 36 disposals, 7 tackles and a couple of goals for a day’s hard work. By the last change the home team had regained control in its fortress after a couple of narrow losses there. McDonald and Andy Moniz-Wakefield were having field days and had scored five and four goals respectively and Casey led by 67 points having kept their hapless opponent scoreless for the quarter. The procession continued into the final stanza with Casey stretching the lead to just over the ton and McDonald finishing with five goals two behinds in a 17 disposal, nine mark performance which left North’s defence in tatters. Grundy was dominant all around the ground ending the game with 33 touches and 18 hit outs and ten clearances to go with his three goals for the day. His second in command in the ruck Will Verrall continued the impressive start to his career but what could be better for a young ruckman learning the craft at a club under Grundy and Gawn? The Casey effort gained great support from the busy James Harmes and Charlie Spargo (24 and 17 touches respectively) while the experience of James Munro and White was valuable throughout. The Demons move on to an elimination final against Footscray next weekend at a time and venue to be announced. CASEY DEMONS 6.1.37 10.6.66 14.9.93 20.14.134 NORTH MELBOURNE VFL 3.1.19 4.2.26 4.2.26 5.3.33 GOALS CASEY DEMONS T. McDonald 5 Moniz-Wakefield 4 Grundy 3 Harmes Jordon 2 Munro Neocleous Spargo White NORTH MELBOURNE VFL Sellers 3 Ellwood Hope BEST CASEY DEMONS Jordon Grundy McDonald Munro Harmes Moniz-Wakefield NORTH MELBOURNE VFL Davis Lienert Bonar Cappellari Statistics Jed Adams 1 kick 1 handball 2 disposals 1 mark tackles 8 dream team points Matt Buntine 9 kicks 4 handballs 13 disposals 7 marks 1 tackle 61 dream team points Luke Dunstan 1 behind 13 kicks 4 handballs 17 disposals 6 marks 63 dream team points Tyler Edwards 8 kicks 5 handballs 13 disposals 6 marks 1 tackle 53 dream team points Tom Freeman 6 kicks 2 handballs 8 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 38 dream team points George Grey 7 kicks 8 handballs 15 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 47 dream team points Brodie Grundy 3 goals 16 kicks 17 handballs 33 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 18 hit outs 136 dream team points James Harmes 2 goals 1 behind 11 kicks 13 handballs 24 disposals 8 marks 4 tackles 102 dream team points Matt Jefferson 3 behinds 4 kicks 4 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 28 dream team points James Jordon 2 goals 19 kicks 17 handballs 36 disposals 6 marks 7 tackles 149 dream team points Tom McDonald 5 goals 2 behinds 12 kicks 5 handballs 17 disposals 9 marks 2 tackles 2 hit outs 115 dream team points Andy Moniz-Wakefield 4 goals 1 behinds 9 kicks 5 handballs 14 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 75 dream team points Ned Moodie 2 behinds 8 kicks 7 handballs 15 disposals 7 marks 59 dream team points James Munro 1 goal 6 kicks 14 handballs 20 disposals 3 marks 13 tackles 112 dream team points Harvey Neocleous 1 goal 4 kicks 10 handballs disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 57 dream team points Josh Schache 3 kicks 5 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 36 dream team points Deaykin Smith 11 kicks 13 handballs 24 disposals 6 marks 1 tackle 72 dream team points Charlie Spargo 1 goal 12 kicks 5 handballs 17 disposals 1 mark 7tackles 77 hit outs dream team points Roan Steele 1 behind 8 kicks 6 handballs 14 disposals 6 marks 3 tackles 68 dream team points Kye Turner 5 kicks 3 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 30 dream team points Will Verrall 1 behind 7 kicks 2 handballs 9 disposals 1 mark 2 tackles 16 hit outs 53 dream team points Mitch White 1 goal 12 kicks 7 handballs 19 disposals 2 marks 59 dream team points Taj Woewoedin 9 kicks 5 handballs 14 disposals 4 marks 5 tackles 70 dream team points